Shenzhen University 50 million gifted prodigy raises many doubts: "FTX trading supervisor, Stanford MBA, China International Capital Corporation McKinsey intern" experiences mostly fabricated

Author: Colin Wu, Wu Says

The Next Pony Ma?

Recently, the news of Zhang Yufeng, a recent graduate from Shenzhen University, donating 50 million to his alma mater has gone viral online. Shenzhen University has called for "to cultivate 10 outstanding alumni of the caliber of Pony Ma by the middle of this century," and some have even dubbed Zhang Yufeng as "Little Pony Ma."

However, after a simple investigation, Wu Says found numerous doubts, with a former FTX employee bluntly stating, "It feels like he has delusions."

The reporter from Jiemian News, who first reported the story, confirmed to Wu Says that Zhang Yufeng's 50 million donation has not actually been made. The article also mentioned that he "will discuss the donation with Shenzhen University in detail on September 28." Previously, there was a case where Wu You, from China University of Mining and Technology, promised a donation but failed to fulfill it and was sued by the school. Wu You's famous saying is: "Only blockchain and mental hospitals can save the future of humanity."

Zhang Yufeng is a student from Class 2 of the International Economics and Trade major, 2018 cohort, at the School of Economics of Shenzhen University. It is currently unclear whether he graduated normally; the Securities Times reported that his classmates said, "He didn't pass several courses, and we don't know if he took the exams later."

The rumor that Zhang Yufeng's father is Zhang Zhidong, an early partner of Tencent, is false. Zhang Yufeng once stated in his Jike content that his father runs a printing factory, which was revived under his guidance, "I lent my father some money to buy a UV printing machine to print star cards."

Zhang Yufeng claims to be a partner at the Singapore hedge fund ABD Venture, but this fund is virtually unknown in the industry, and no information can be found. A similarly named traditional fund is ADB Venture. Zhang Yufeng's Twitter account also claims he is the founder of Encinal Research, but no information about this organization can be found either.

Zhang Yufeng claims to have interned at several top companies, including the Singapore cross-border e-commerce platform Shopee, international consulting firm McKinsey, CICC Capital, Tencent, and a leading dollar fund, starting from his sophomore year, covering almost all top giants in various industries.

The authenticity of this resume is questionable. Especially, it is extremely difficult to enter McKinsey and CICC. Moreover, such a dense experience is very rare. After the news spread, a McKinsey employee in China privately stated that the company is very small, with very few people, and has never heard of this person.

Zhang Yufeng's Jike account claims he is an MBA from Stanford. However, considering he graduated only a year ago, it is generally difficult for recent graduates to be accepted into an MBA program, especially from top schools. Additionally, he claims to have served as the head of trading at FTX in 2022, making it hard to have time for an MBA.

The most astonishing part is that Zhang Yufeng accepted an interview with a well-known industry podcast in December 2022, detailing his experience as the head of the trading department at FTX, claiming to report directly to SBF.

However, according to Wu Says and Shen Chao, after consulting more than four mid-level and senior employees from FTX, all stated they had never heard of this person and believed his claims to be impersonation and fabrication, "It feels like he has delusions."

In the podcast, he stated that he joined FTX in March 2022 and entered the trading department:

"Because Sam has a relatively high voice in there, he formed his own team. There might already be a trading team here, and there might be another trading team there; you can understand why there are trading departments one and two." "I think I am quite similar to him (SBF)."

"FTX, I invested a lot of emotion into it, and our colleagues are also very emotional about it because FTX is a company model I really like, with very few people. When I joined, there were just over 100."

"I went to the Bahamas in May, and I stayed for less than two weeks. I went there because I was urged to go. There were about five subordinates."

"My main focus was trading, and I took a vacation because I got promoted, so I would be responsible for more strategic things afterward. But it turned out to be a wasted promotion."

A former senior executive at FTX stated that since this podcast episode aired, he has been asked many times about Zhang Yufeng, but there is absolutely no such person, nor is there any so-called team mentioned in the podcast. "I can't say I know everyone, but it really feels like this guy has delusions."

Three months ago, Zhang Yufeng wrote on Jike: "Recently, I've been taken to the SEC for questioning every day, it's really annoying."

Many people have already consulted Zhang Yufeng and hope he will clarify the situation. Shen Chao has also added him on WeChat hoping to get an explanation, but has not been accepted yet. As of the time of publication, the individual has not responded to any inquiries. We hope he can explain the above doubts. We also hope Shenzhen University can complete the donation process as soon as possible.

(This article also thanks Mao Di and Shen Chao for their contributions.)

Appendix:

Full podcast transcript, available for reading in the transcript provided by iFlytek

https://docs.qq.com/doc/DQ2NhUXlVWVZZZ1B2

Full report by Jiemian News:

https://m.jiemian.com/article/10172291.html

Full introduction of his father

https://www.odaily.news/newsflash/337152?source=share

Jike account

https://m.okjike.com/users/c9ba1e86-69eb-407a-a1e8-a78110bb134b?ref=PROFILECARD\&utmsource=user_card